Heiress of the Okami Clan
by AURyuichi-san
Summary: After her village is destroyed and her immediate family murdered, Okami Nekura must take it upon herself to round up the survivors and find refuge in a place that was soon to be their ally, Konohagakure. Story of Nekura and her struggle to lead the remains of her clan to prosperity in a new village. -ShikaxOC- rating will change with later chapters, possibly. Plz R
1. Preface: Fresh Start

**Disclaimer: Do not own Naruto, only my OC**

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The intimidating gates of Konohagakure seemed to tower over us...well more _me_ I suppose. It didn't help that I was the only child among the small rough looking group behind me, sans the babies in their families' arms of course.

I looked to the remains of my clan and village as I hesitated to step out of the shadows of the gates and into the unfamiliar village. They looked to me, so obviously expectant. I allowed myself one selfish thought before before my sense of cynicism and responsibility retorted back.

_I didn't ask for this!_ A snarky scoff was the only response in my mind.

_None of them asked for it either, but our village was still slaughtered wasn't it?_ After I flinched at my thoughts and was properly rebuked the other voice softened, more somber than harsh. _It is time you take the place your family left you. The survivors look to you now to lead them._ Though she'd known the truth far before the voice told her, the unfairness of it all irked her.

_I'm only _8_ years old! Besides I won't officially be the head until I'm AT LEAST a chunin and I probably won't reach _that_ level until I'm AT LEAST 13!_ That other, more irritatingly logical side only spoke calmly again.

_It does not matter. _You_ were the one who gathered the survivors, _you_ were the one that willed them to live on for the loved ones they lost, to leave the ruins of the place we had all started to call home._ The memories of y oral and very passionate speech would have brought a blush to my cheeks if it didn't morbidly embarrass me so much to the point of making me pale rather than the former.

_What's with all this 'you' business? We're the same person! _The inner voice only seemed to sniff and I was sure if this inner voice had a body that it would be giving me a superior look right now.

_That's not the point, the point is they look to you now, official or not._

_So now I'm the unofficial head of the Okami clan and leader to our nonexistent village? I didn't even want it to begin with! I had happily given the privilege of leading to my little brother- _My thoughts stopped short when they began to wander towards my family before I mentally shook myself.

Now was not the time for self reflection. I had a clan to lead as unexpected and unwanted as it may be. I straightened my back, steeling myself to the gaunt, shaded faces of my people, looking each in the eye for a few seconds with determination in my eyes. Hell, if an 8 year old isn't scared of change, of starting over, why should they be?

I could see how my short look affected them, their own backs straightening, a look of grim resolution on their faces. Their eyes were no longer glued to the ground beneath them, but now held high with all the pride and confidence they could muster. Even the few wolf ninken accompanying us began to push out their chests. I gave a sharp nod of approval at the-no-_my_ clan.

_We are the Okami clan, strong and proud no matter how few are in our pack._ I looked forward to the gates again and no longer did they seem so intimidating. The shadows began to shrink as the sun rose over the Hokage monument, momentarily dazzling my clan and the few civilians that were rescued. This was Konohagakure, their chance for a new life, a stable life after all the chaos and tragedy that followed it.


	2. Ch 1 Another Clan Heir

**AN: You'll notice I jump right into the story. If there's something you don't understand it'll probably be explained later whether through word of mouth from the character them self or through a flash back. If not I expect people to figure it out themselves since I try to make it obvious or pm me in case it's a mistake on my part...sorry if that's the case(-_-,).**

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(Nekura- 8 yrs old)

Her ears flickered back and forth nervously beneath her hood, her tail wishing to do the same were it not hidden by her black jacket and wrapped firmly around her waist. She could hear the ruckus her soon to be classmates were making as she neared her assigned room before the impressive shout of what she could only assume was the teacher effectively shut them up. The wolf eared girl heard him already starting her introduction to the class as she approached the door though she missed the first few words.

"... a new student joining us. Now before she comes in, I'll tell you now not to nosy or pushy. You have to keep in mind that their entire village was destroyed before they could really rise to power and since we were in the middle of negotiations for an alliance when the attack happened, the Hokage was kind enough to invite the surviving clan and few civilians to join Konoha." The young girl's demeanor darkened at the reminder of her pack's demise and her guide noticed. Another girl's irritatingly loud voice interrupted the wolf girl's morbid thoughts.

"Um, Iruka-sensei, what clan does the new student come from?" _Didn't the sensei just say _not_ to be nosy? Does this girl not have a brain?_ Before Iruka could answer or the girl continue her angry train of thought, the doors slid open to reveal the Hokage himself and the hooded girl.

"Ah, you're here. Hello, Hokage-sama." The tan man with a scar across his nose and cheeks bowed as he spoke to the old man in a respectful manner.

"Yes, yes, hello to you too Iruka." The old hokage brushed aside the formalities quickly and whispered something to the teacher before speaking aloud again. "Well I'll just be going. I still have more of that infernal paperwork to do, I only wished to see that your new student was properly escorted to her class." With that, the old man in the kage robs left with a comforting pat to the girl's stiff shoulder. Iruka took quick control of the class after he left.

"Ok class, this is Okami Nekura, heir to the Okami clan." Murmurs broke out immediately after his statement, mostly because there was yet another clan heir that had joined their class. Two of these said clan heirs seemed more interested in this new student than the rest and uncharacteristically so considering the two were known for being broody and lazy. There was, however, a third heir that was interested if only to try and prove his superiority as a clan heir and being as big mouthed as he was, he was quick to loudly voice his opinion.

"What's so special about the Okami clan? I've never even heard of it!" The girl glared at the feral boy with red markings on his face from beneath her hood, though no one could see it. It was easy for anyone to hear that his voice held contempt and an illogical sense of superiority towards the new student. Her new teacher, she was glad to see, was just as quick to beat down the boy's arrogance by responding in an infuriatingly level and calm voice.

"I'm surprised you've never heard of it Kiba, especially considering that your own clan originates from the Okami's own." The feral boy she now knew as Kiba looked positively gobsmacked at that little tidbit of information and was shocked into silence as Iruka-sensei continued his small lesson on her clan, going into lecture mode.

"The Okami clan is said to be as old if not older than both the Uchiha and Hyuga Clan though it's said that shinobi techniques were not established into their fighting style until the time period of the nidaime. That's probably why their clan isn't very well heard of along with the fact that they're fiercely protective of their clan techniques and secrets, but from what little is known of them in the shinobi world it's said that they're more ferocious and loyal than the Inuzuka considering they're more closely tied to their ninken partners, wolves. They also keep to themselves more than the Aburame." The students now stared in awe at their new classmate and did not doubt the last part considering the kid was wearing a hoodie similar to Shino's and a black face mask (like Kakashi's) so they didn't even know what she looked like or that _she_ was even a _she_.

The last loyal Uchiha stared curiously at the new kid, wondering what he was capable of as well as disturbingly pleased that there was someone else who knew his pain.

The lazy Nara was curious as well if only a little as his mind was already churning with the information he had already received.

_'Nekura? That's a feminine name. Come to think of it, no one's heard the kid talk and you cant tell what the kid looks like with that hood and face mask. Probably a girl, but it looks like no one's figured it out, not that it really matters. The question is why is she hiding her appearance and gender? Was it her intention to purposely hide it for a larger reason or is it just a personal thing? Sigh...mendokusai.'_ With that last thought, the Nara returned his head to his desk and settled in to sleep for the duration of class, having finished analyzing what he could of the situation for the moment.

"Why don't you take a seat Okami-kun so we can start class." Nekura nodded, having already decided to sit in the empty window seat next to the already sleeping Nara boy.

Class itself was uneventful after that and passed by in a blur for the wolf girl as the probing questions that her classmates tried to ask her were only met with a cold silence and unwelcome demeanor. Soon enough her classmates gave up trying to get her to talk and the more spiteful ones gave her the rude and unimaginative nickname of 'Shino clone', but Nekura simply ignored them, entirely unaffected by their taunting.

As soon as the bell rang, Nekura went home, having more important things to do than dealing with bratty attention seeking bullies. She would have rather spent class time learning to run a clan, training to get stronger, and helping to settle in her broken people to a new village. Nekura knew she had her work cut out for her.


	3. Ch 2 Mendokusai

Four and a half years passed since that first day and Nekura found herself finishing yet another sketchbook full of Shikamaru. She blushed furiously under her face mask as she put away her sketchbook only to bring out a different one as she wondered at her infatuation with the lazy genius.

_'This is getting ridiculous! If we still had another year of academy left I would probably have another shelf full of sketchbooks filled with Shikamaru!'_ The wolf girl let her embarrassment fade as she updated Choji's sketchbook, writing down the list of new snacks he brought in, sketching out what they looked like next to the written name along with a small description for each, not even noticing the nearing of the end of class or Iruka-sensei's announcement of the graduation exam being held in three days.

Okami Nekura had, in her four and a half years of academy, observed her classmates and written down those observations with accompanying illustrations in countless sketchbooks. Those that did not quit ninja academy over those years had accumulated no more than four sketchbooks a person, but her infatuation with one Nara Shikamaru had led her to needing to dedicate an entire shelf for all of his related sketchbooks and the majority of them didn't even have any data, just sketches. Some she even took the time to color! It was embarrassing just to think about how much she liked the boy.

Soon enough class ended with Nekura none the wiser, not even when it was only her and Shikamaru left in the classroom, with him looking over her shoulder at the sketches and scribbles. That was quickly remedied when he chose to speak up.

"You spelled the name of that snack wrong." His lax, drawling voice startled the wolf girl badly, making her suddenly stand up with a start, knocking over her chair and Shikamaru along with herself.

After their spectacular fall of flailing limbs and incoherent exclamations, Nekura somehow found her bare lips firmly pressed against her crush's own, her face mask somehow pulled down and her jacket magically open displaying her revealing outfit, a black half shirt styled like a kimono with a red trim clearly showing her midriff and emphasizing what little cleavage she had. What's worse is that the kiss wasn't the most embarrassing part or perhaps it was equally as embarrassing?

In Shikamaru's attempt to stop her from crashing down on him, he lifted his hands to grab her shoulders only to find that they found themselves pressing against a ...softer target. Though his original purpose to bring minimal harm to both of them was accomplished, he knew that men who touched this area whether by accident or otherwise generally ended up in excruciating pain, not to mention the kiss.

Both froze for a few immeasurable seconds, their lips still together in a chaste kiss with his hands pressed firmly against her breasts. Nekura was the first to snap out of it, shooting herself up to a sitting position with a heavy flush on her face, forcing her hood back and revealing her snow white hair, only for her already flushed brown skin to turn an impressive tomato red when she found herself straddling her crush who at this point had managed to sit up slightly by propping himself up on his elbows, his eyes uncharacteristically wide in shock.

A few more seconds passing found Nekura scrabbling to her feet and shocking the already shocked Nara even more when she actually stammered out a quiet apology.

"S-s-sorry..." and with that one word, Okami Nekura ran out the door and disappeared leaving only a cloud of dust in her wake as well as a thoroughly shell shocked Nara.

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_'What just happened?'_ For the first time in my life, my thought process was very severely screwed up. I sat up slowly, almost unable to process everything that just occured. My fingers found themselves on my lips, a subconscious action.

_'Her lips were so warm and soft...'_ I felt a slight flush rush to my cheeks at the memory. Looking down at my hands, another thought came unbidden to my frazzled brain.

_'Warm...and soft...'_ The flush grew more pronounced, I'm sure, when I realized her lips weren't the only thing(s) that those words could describe at the moment. I just sighed as I let the back of my hands fall into my lap, my mind finally recognizing other details of the moment. Details like her flawless light chocolate skin, her heart shaped face framed by snow white hair and two wolf ears adorning her head- wait _wolf ears?_

_'Cute..' _was the first thought that popped into my mind before I realized how strange it was, but it only made her look even more adorable than she already was. _'Pretty sure I saw a tail too...'_

After a while, I noticed that I'd been sitting on the floor for a good ten minutes just thinking about a girl, albeit a very attractive girl. My eyes wandered to the abandoned sketchbook Nekura had forgotten in her haste to escape only to travel back to my hands to remember where they were minutes ago. I shook my head as I felt the heat rise to my cheeks and sighed when I couldn't get her face out of my head. There was only one word that could describe my predicament.

"Mendokusai..."

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I heard the door slide open followed by a very lazy 'I'm home' signifying that my son and heir was indeed home. I continued to read the newspaper, but set my coffee down to talk to him before he passed the kitchen.

"Welcome back. Graduation's coming up soon isn't it?" Shikamaru simply nodded and said one word seeming almost...dazed? Well more so than usual.

"Yes..." I examined him lazily, curious, and saw that he seemed rather unfocused and _that_ was unusual.

"Did Iruka give the announcement today?" This time he didn't even speak he just stared blankly off into space and nodded. _What the hell?_ I'm not even sure I _want_ to know, but I might as well, could be interesting. I picked up my coffee preparing to take a sip after asking my question and going back to reading my newspaper.

"So...anything interesting happen today?" As I sipped at my coffee and read my article I honestly expected my lazy son (not that I can talk) to say nothing and complain about how much of a drag his day was, but what he said was _completely unexpected._

"...I think I fell in love..." Any coffee that had made its way into my mouth found itself immediately expunged and soaking my person as well as the table and my newspaper while I stared bug eyed at my son in utter disbelief.

"WHAAAAT?!" He didn't seem to notice that I had yelled that at the top of my lungs but at least he acknowledged and anwered. He clicked his tongue and scratched the back of his neck with one hand while the other remained in his pocket.

"I said I fell in love with a girl today. I already had feelings for her before, but I'd never acted on them, too lazy," I sweatdropped as his statement was emphasized when he yawned, but my jaw dropped at what he said next, "but _damn_ that kiss felt nice." And that was the day that I, Nara Shikaku, became unable to think for a solid two hour. I didn't even notice Shikamaru leave, saying he was going to take a nap until dinner.

_'Shikamaru...girl...love...KISS'_ That was also the day that I fainted for the first time, not that anyone would know since I woke up before my wife could come in and start dinner...

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**AN: Sorry if Nekura seems a little too much like Hinata but it's kinda understandable and besides if that was Hinata she totally would have fainted...maybe.**


	4. Ch 3 Shocking Scores

For the first time in Shikamaru's short twelve years of life, he was irritated (Ino didn't count, he could always just tune her out) and if he admitted it to himself, he was also a little hurt. And who else could the cause be but the girl that stole his first kiss, or vice versa (not the point), and his heart a long with it. Choji paused his munching to look at his best friend who had been sighing much more frequently than usual in the past three days.

"What's up with you lately, Shika?" Though the question was spoken casually as they walked to the academy together, it was easy to tell that Choji was genuinely concerned since he'd stopped eating long enough to focus on his friend's answer.

"Sigh~, Nekura's avoiding me." Choji lookied confused for a moment before recognition lit up his expression. He asked a question as they sat down(already made it to academy through super-awesome-author-no-jutsu.)

"You mean Okami-san? What do you-" He was interrupted when Iruka-sensei used his big head jutsu to quiet the class.

"Alright, like I told you all three days ago, today's the graduation exam. All I can do is hope that you learned well and to do your best." As he continued his little pep speech, Shikamaru tuned it out and stared at the ceiling going over his strategy again, thinking one thing.

_'Hope this plan works.'_ Shikamaru soon fell asleep to the droning of his sensei's voice, stealing a glance at Nekura before doing so only to be rudely awoken by Iruka-sensei shouting his name in what seemed only moments after the start of his slumber. He yawmed as he stood up and entered the exam room alone. _'Here goes everything.'_

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When my name was called, I passed by Shikamaru without flinching though a blush did find my cheeks, thankfully hidden by my face mask as I made my way to the exam room, but I didn't miss the meaningful look he had given me before going on his way. A tight pit of dread appeared in my stomach as I once again reminded myself that I couldn't avoid him forever. My thoughts stayed on the events that happened three days ago as I did the exam. The tests asked of me were ridiculously easy and soon enough there was a hitai-ate tied loosely around my neck.

After all the students took the exam, Iruka-sensei went on to give those that passed a 'Shinobi life' speech while I looked around to see who made the cut and who didn't. I was unsurprised when I found that all of the clan heirs in our class remained, but was confused as to why Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto wasn't there. It was obvious who his parents were as well as why the village seemed to openly hate him when you observed and gave it a little thought, it made me question the overall IQ of said village, but aside from that I knew that Naruto's IQ was much higher than he let on. If I wasn't mistaken he should have an intelligence only surpassed by myself, the Nara's, and the hokage himself. His shinobi skills should have also been on par with my own if my observations were correct so it had me wondering why he hadn't graduated. Maybe Mizuki-sensei did something to rig his test again? It was a large possibility.

_'Maybe I should investigate it...'_ My plans were interrupted when Iruka-sensei began to announce the results of the exams to the class.

"...the student who got the highest score was," I could already see the Uchiha puffing out his chest like a blowfish, "...actually there's a tie for first place." I smirked beneath my mask as the Uchiha boy deflated and frowned slightly though his eyes showed disbelief behind all the emo and arrogance. The pink-haired banshee being as loud and nosy as she was had to ask the obvious.

"Who tied for first?" The girl being as delusional as she was probably believed that she and her precious _Sasuke-kun_ had tied for the highest score. I chuckled inwardly. _'Oh she'll see.'_ And she did.

"Um, wow," Iruka-sensei spoke to himself as if not believing what was on the paper, "Okami-san and...Shikamaru?" All of my classmates' eyes popped out comically along with their mouths hanging open, my own eyes wide in shock at the fact that Shikamaru had _bothered_ to get a high score. Everyone's shock only grew when Iruka-sensei continued.

"Well it seems both performed above a perfect score considering neither had to say the name of the jutsu or even use hand seals and the results were flawless." Everyone openly gaped at Shikamaru and I in awe, myself joing in the gaping of Shikamaru. Of course I didn't need to shout out the technique, the practice was anything but practical and our clan made it a rule to never learn a new jutsu unless a previous one was to full mastery, it was why our clan was known for its powerful jutsu rather than having a lot. No, it was not my perfect score that shocked me, it was Shikamaru's and the implications behind said scores. His scores would imply that he trained just as much if not more than me to reach that level of mastery as well and that just _did not_ fit Nara Shikamaru's character. So of course I would also be shocked by his score, it was perfectly understandable.

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_'Success.'_ Shikamaru thought glibly as he caught Nekura staring at him in utter shock.

"Well, then I'll see you all in a week for team assignments. I suggest you use that time to train and relax the last day because after that is when your career as a shinobi or a kunoichi begins." With those parting words, Iruka-sensei dismissed them.

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**AN: So I know there are some inconsistencies that some might notice in this chapter and I will do my best to address them as they're for a reason...unless it really is a mistake...anyways, first of all is that I didn't make it so Iruka announced the top scores for girls and boys separately b/c that's kinda sexist. I understand that there are kunoichi and shinobi but they've all learned the same thing their entire time in academy so seperating them seems pretty baseless unless you're specifically being gender conscious. There's also the point that Nekura makes the assumption that Mizuki rigged Naruto's test which wasn't true in canon but in this case will be and will be touched on in later chapters. Another thing is Iruka's shock when he finds out the scores which might be confusing to some seeing how in canon he and Mizuki were the ones to administer the test. I don't explain it in story but all the students were judged by randomly chosen sensei's that work at the academy, assistant senseis like Mizuki included. Finally there's that the students were NOT tested right in front of their peers, something I found stupid and kind of cruel considering how it might affect you psychologically if you failed in front of people you've studied with for years, so no, no public exams. They all took their tests individually (not counting the written exam) and in a different room. I think that's it, otherwise all other inconsistencies are accidental and have gone unnoticed by me. Pm if it really bothers you, but otherwise ignore it and move on**


	5. Ch 4 Team Assignments

A week passed quickly for Nekura and Shikamaru and they soon found themselves in their familiar classroom for what might be the last time. The only time either showed an emotion other than bored was when Naruto walked in, in all his orange glory, with a hitai-ate tied securely on his forehead.

_'So he earned his graduation during the ruckus a week ago,'_ both Shikamaru and Nekura thought. Of course the brash Inuzuka had to shout at the blond when he saw him, making Nekura's sensitive ears ring. At least it wasn't as bad as the pink howler monkey.

"What are YOU doing here, dead last?! This is for graduating class ONLY!" e gave a mean, toothy grin to the whiskered blond who became obviously irritated but did not shout. He _did_, however, sound much more insulting than the dog boy when he replied.

"What do you think, kibbles-for-brains? You blind or something 'cause I'm pretty sure this thing on my forehead is a hitai-ate!" Before the Inuzuka could recover from the retort or argue back, Iruka-sensei walked in. As the Graduating class settled in, Shikamaru let a lazy smirk grace his lips, gaining a quizzical glance from his munching friend.

_'Time for Phase 2 of Confrontation.'_ After Iruka-sensei gave yet _another _small speech, he finally began on what everyone _really_ cared about, even Shikamaru was unusually focused.

"...Team 10 will be Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke," everyone flinched at the pinkette's screech of victory until Iruka-sensei finished, "and Yamanaka Ino." The screech turned into a growl as the blue eyed fangirl pumped her fist in the air and shouted her victory. Meanwhile, a certain became even paler than his usual skin tone as the horrors of having his two biggest fangirls on his team set in.

"Your Sensei will be Sarutobi Asuma." Iruka-sensei continued down his list,as jumbled as it was. They could have at least put it in numerical order.

"Team 8 will be Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino, and Hyuuga Hinata. Your sensei will be Yuhi Kurenai." No big surprises there, though Kiba seemed a little too happy to be on the same team as poor Hinata.

"Choji, you will be apprenticed to Jonin Mitarashi Anko." There were a few murmurs and congratulations given seeing as an apprenticeship was rare. If only he knew...

"Team 9 is still in circulation so we'll skip that." The graduating students had started to do the math in their head when trying to gigure out the last team which shouldn't have been difficult considering only three students hadn't been called yet, but it was a little too strange to accept. Them? Together? On the same team?

"Team 7 will be Okami Nekura, Uzumaki Naruto, and Nara Shikamaru. Your sensei will be Hatake Kakashi." Now there was just as much commotion for this team as there was for the spoiled Uchiha brat. Most of the outbursts and whispers related to the 'dead last' and the 'Shino clone' still four years strong unfortunately. No one cared to comment on Shikamaru so only Choji noticed his friend's growing smirk.

_'Phase 2 complete, now on to Phase 3.'_

"Your jonin sensei's will arrive shortly. I wish all of you good luck." With a final goodbye, their academy sensei was gone only for a group of three to walk in a few minutes later.

The first to come in was a tall man with tan skin and a beard wearing a standard green vest with a dark blue long sleeved shirt underneath along with the classic black shinobi pants with his shins and ankles taped down. He wore black shinobi sandals, had on a bandanna that matched his shirt, another bandanna with the character for fire around his waist, and a cigarette in his mouth.

"Team 10, follow me." He walked out unceremoniously as Sasuke, Ino, and Sakura scrambled to catch up.

The second person was not as tall as the first but was certainly more buxom and beautiful, her red and white bandage dress very nicely accentuating her curves and the shortness of it showing off the creamy color of her flawless legs. Her hair was coal black and in flattering wild waves that perfectly framed an attractive face with eyes as red as her plump lips. She as well was as blunt as the sensei before her.

"Team 8, come with me." Now it was Kiba, Shino, and Hinata's turn to scramble after their new sensei.

The third and final person one could already tell was flashy by nature if her outfit was anything to go by. She wore a long grey trench coat a fishnet suit without a visible bra of any kind along with a ridiculously short purple miniskirt with some of the fishnet peeking from underneath the skirt to mid thigh being the only thing beneath said trench coat. She had Mid length purple hair held up in a similar ponytail to Shikamaru's and/or Iruka's and a sadistic grin on her face.

"C'mon swirly cheeks. Be grateful your sensei is the sexiest kunoichi Mitarashi Anko!" Choji gulped as she posed with ehr words and warily followed her strutting form out the door, entirely too aware of the looks of pity he was receiving from the last team still there.

And so team 7 waited for their sensei and before long, one hour passed, then another, and a half hour after that naruto had finally lost his patience.

"AUGH! I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE! Where the hell is our sensei?! Everyone else left HOURS AGO!" neither shouted at Naruto or reprimanded him in any way seeing as they agreed with him so Nekura simply gave a nod of acknowledgement while Shikamaru sighed.

"Man what a draaaag." Naruto huffed indignantly and crossed his arms childishly, tapping his foot when his face suddenly split into an evil grin. You could practically see the lightbulb above his head turning on. Shikamaru couldn't help but ask the obvious when he saw Naruto start messing around with the door.

"Naruto, what are you doing?" Naruto didn't look away from his work, but his words conveyed easily enough what he intended.

"What does it look like? Setting up a prank! This'll teach our sensei to show up late!" The lazy genius just sighed again and left the blond to his own devices before focusing his attention on Nekura who thankfully hadn't moved from the seat next to him. She seemed to tense when he looked at her and Shikamaru had to resist the urge to sigh again, opting instead to take out the sketchbook she had forgotten a little over a week ago.

_'Phase 3 commence.'_

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**AN: If the Phase thing isn't easy to figure out I can tell you right now that the phases are Shikamaru's plan to confront Nekura about, well, things hence the name 'Confrontation.' The first phase was when he tied for the highest score during the exams and he thought the word 'success.' The second phase was getting onto the same team as her by doing so since it wasn't hard for him to figure out that the two people with the highest scores in the class end up on the same team along with the dead last of the class and since he knew that Nekura would get the highest he aimed to tie with her. It was simple deduction on his part. The third phase will be actually getting her to talk to her by using her forgotten sketchbook as a non-awkward starting subject. Shikamaru is after all a genius so of course he'd strategize in some way to at least talk to Nekura or at least I'd imagine so. He's technically not my character but that's besides the point(=v=,).**


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